The invention relates generally to household implements. More particularly, the invention relates to devices for containing portions of a toilet plunger and for holding it in a desired upright position on a bathroom floor surface location or various other types of desired locations.
A typical household usually has a plunger implement for use in the event of a blockage in a toilet or in another type of drain. In many households the plunger is stored in the bathroom in open view because of the difficulty of finding a location which can allow a wet plunger to be placed therein without the liquid draining from the plunger causing unsanitary contamination or some other type of damage to the area. Moreover, many people are reluctant to pick up and transport a plunger to another room immediately after use when it is dripping wet due to the likelihood of it dripping liquid in other household areas necessitating disagreeable cleanup or damage repair. In addition, the relatively large size of the typical plunger makes it difficult to store in homes which have limited storage space.
Due to faulty plumbing design or unreasonable use of garbage disposal units and the like, many households have frequent drain problems making it more convenient for the plunger to be stored close to the problematic drains. Sometimes, drain blockages can result in overflow causing water damage to wood floors, odorous contamination of an area, mold formation in carpeting or other types of damage to the surrounding household area. Such an overflow can happen very quickly making such blockages a potentially emergency situation. Due to these factors, storage of the plunger in an easily accessible location such as beneath the sink, or next to the bathtub or the toilet is deemed necessary in many households. But, plungers are typically designed for functionality rather than aesthetics. The functional design results in a typical plunger having a relatively large unsightly rubber bottom portion which is composed of a material capable of withstanding immersion in liquids containing various types of organic and inorganic materials. Moreover, the rubber bottom portion is required to be capable of providing a high degree of suction in order to free up oftentimes stubborn drain blockages. The need for high suction capabilities results in a bulbous shaped rubber bottom portion which is commonly perceived to be unattractive. Indeed, some people consider plungers ugly or perhaps gruesome in appearance and prefer that the plunger be out of their field of view. As a result, etiquette-conscious or aesthetic-conscious homeowners do not keep the plunger in the bathroom close to the commode but rather keep it out of sight somewhere else where it is not easily accessible and thereby detracting from the usefulness of such implements particularly in emergency situations.
Toilet plungers are commonly perceived to be unsanitary because it is likely they have come into close contact with toilet bowl liquids containing unsanitary substances commonly found therein as well as drain pipe liquids containing moldy garbage and the like. Consequently, many people consider plungers disgusting and for this reason do not want to clean and sanitize the plungers. Such household implements are therefore a habitat for disease germs presenting a risk for young children who commonly crawl around on floor surfaces and are not reluctant to come into tactile and oral contact with whatever objects happen to be on the floor. Consequently, people do not want plungers to be close by or within their view. What results is a dilemma wherein the plunger needs to be in a certain location where it is readily accessible but no one wants to see it there or allow it to remain there longer than absolutely necessary.
In attempting to address these concerns, many types of devices and structures have been designed to either conceal the plunger or to provide easy transportation thereof. Some of these more popular designs have sought to cover up the entire plunger with something more attractive. An example of such a design is U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,006 to Wilk. The Wilk invention is essentially a holder for a plunger in which the holder casing has a variety of decorative shapes. The Wilk casing includes two members which allow it to open and close for insertion of the entire plunger therein. However, because this design covers the entire plunger including the handle it adds a lot of bulk to the household implement requiring a relatively large storage area for it. Since this requires that the storage area be both large and conveniently located, this holder disadvantageously limits the number of storage spaces that are suitable. The larger size of this holder relative to the plunger also draws an inordinate and undesirable amount of visual attention to it. This type of design also adds more size and weight to the entire implement making it more difficult and inconvenient to transport. The upper portion of the Wilkes structure which covers the plunger handle is also thick making it more difficult to transport.
Other types of plunger holder designs solely provide coverage of the stick portion of the plunger. An example of such a design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,566 to Gibbs. The Gibbs invention is a rigid structure which is composed of two main portions the upper portion of which opens to allow insertion of the plunger. However, the upper portion opens down rather than laterally requiring the user to stoop over to an excessive degree in order to operate resulting in undue back strain. More importantly, however, the Gibbs invention does not cover the rubber suction head of the plunger which is the most unsightly part thereof. Since the unsightly part of the plunger is not concealed by the Gibbs invention, the Gibbs invention does not address the unattractiveness problem presented by plungers. Consequently, these types of holders have limited value in the typical household.
Another prior art design which is designed to provide coverage as well as protect the surrounding area from liquid drainage from the plunger is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D419,019 to Shafik. The Shafik invention has a half collar fitting around the plunger stick and has a half open bottom portion which conforms to the shape of the plunger head. This holder also has a circular base which covers the rim of the plunger and thereby functions to contain water inside the holder. However, a primary disadvantage of such designs is that much of the plunger is exposed thereby detracting from the decorativeness such designs may otherwise provide.
The above described devices and structures do not provide both decorativeness and ease of transportation. They also do not provide easy installation and removal of a plunger from such devices and structures. What is therefore needed is a plunger holder which covers the objectionable part of the plunger and adds decorativeness to the entire structural combination of plunger and holder. What is also needed is a holder which leaves the plunger handle exposed allowing convenient transportation thereof and thereby also minimizing added weight. What is also needed is such a plunger holder which has portions which can be laterally opened and closed thereby minimizing back strain that may otherwise be caused by excessive stooping over to install and remove the plunger from the holder. What is further needed is a holder which protects the surrounding area from plunger liquids and additionally allows the plunger to dry out after use.